NCC restates commitment to tennis league

By John EgbokhanThe Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) has said it was inclined to sustaining the NCC Tennis League Cup, which it sponsors.

Austin Okocha returns the ball at the launch of the NCC Tennis League in Lagos

The league, which started in 2015, and its run by Godwin Kienka of the International Tennis Academy, has witnessed significant improvements in prize money, players performances, with the 2017 edition seeing the expansion of the teams to 12.

With mouth-watering cash prizes for the winning teams, the level of competition has risen, with teams digging deep into their bags of arsenal to outwit each other for the ultimate prize.

Last year’s star prize was won by Team Offikwu which was making its debut appearance that same year and mesmerized its way to the trophy with a N7m cash prize in tow, while Team Tombim who emerged runner-up, got N5m for its valiant efforts. Teams Civil Defence and FCT which placed third and fourth got N3 million and N2 million respectively for their hard work.

And impressed with these giant strides over the last three years of the Tennis League, the NCC said it was satisfied with its involvement in the programme, promising to continue cultivating the fields for a better future for Nigerian tennis players.

Speaking to reporters in Lagos, a Deputy Director of NCC, Jerry Ogwu said that the, “we started sponsoring the Tennis League so as to draw awareness to Nigerian tennis and three years on, we are happy that our aim has been achieved because more teams are coming on board to participate in the league.

“The NCC believes that our vision for Nigerian players to become true world beaters will become a reality very soon and on our part, we will continue sponsoring the event”, said Ogwu.